


May I?

by Crystal059



Series: Pride Month Challenge [9]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Days, F/F, First Meetings, Mentioned Jack Kelly/Crutchie/David Jacobs, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Sarah makes it better, Seriously Kat is ready to kill someone, Stress, jack does not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 07:19:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17844914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal059/pseuds/Crystal059
Summary: Katherine’s having the worst day, and it just keeps getting worse. At every turn. Until she runs into a cute stranger.





	May I?

**Author's Note:**

> So, it’s not June anymore, hasn’t been for a while, and won’t be for a bit, but I finally got my inspiration back! So, I thought I’d post this now, just to give myself a confidence boost, which I really need.
> 
> The prompt for this is “May I?”, and I hope it turned out alright. I’ve never written this pairing before, so let me know if either of them seem out of character.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Sarah or Katherine, or any other character from Newsies, both the movie and musical.

This day has not been Katherine’s day. Not one bit.

First, Katherine doesn’t get coffee at her usual place because she wakes up late. She has to rush to work. And then, she’s so tired from a late night the night before that she gets off at the wrong station, and has to spend twenty minutes that she doesn’t  _have_ to make her way to work.

She has to have the stale coffee from the break room because she needs the caffeine and there was no way to make a new pot. So much for having a well-stocked break room.

Then, Katherine’s editor refuses, yet again, to let her write about the heavy stuff - politics, natural disasters, local happenings in the city. Nothing but fluff pieces - musicals, plays, which zoo animal had just had a baby, what celebrity couple just had a baby.

Don’t get her wrong, Katherine enjoys musicals and plays, and she certainly likes that her tickets are paid for by the paper, but Katherine likes musicals and plays decidedly less when she has to write a review for work as she watches.

What makes the whole not-being-able-to-write-what-she-wanted thing worse, is that Katherine is fairly certain it has to do with her father, who has a big influence on the city. He’s protective and doesn’t want Katherine going off on assignments that could put her in danger - which Katherine understands except how could an assignment like interviewing the mayor put her in danger?

The reason Katherine had gotten a job at a newspaper that isn’t run by her father, however, is because she had known he would give her assignments typing up the obituaries. Apparently, Joesph Pulitzer’s influence extended farther than Katherine had originally thought.

The last thing she needs is exactly what happens next. Her phone starts ringing, and before she’s even got her hand on the device in her purse, Katherine’s stomach is sinking lower in her body from all the despair building up.

Looking at caller ID, the despair in her stomach suddenly makes sense. It’s her ex-boyfriend, Jack Kelly. She angrily jabs at the call icon and angrily snaps, “What, Kelly?”, but Kelly seems to be rather busy because he doesn’t notice.

”So, you’re a reporter, aren’t ya?” Jack says on the other end, and before she can remind him that, yes, she is a reporter (you should know that, Kelly), he’s launching into a long-winded explanation that she can’t handle right now.

”Get to the point, Kelly,” she snaps, not caring if she interrupts him.

”We’se going on strike,” Jack grunts out. “And the boys were wonderin’ if you could cover it. It’s against ya father, so not many reporters are vying for an exclusive.”

”The boys?” Katherine asks, mocking his accent.

Jack ignored her tone, and answered, “I told ‘em you’se was just startin’ out, and ya weren’t gonna be much help, but Davy insisted.” God, he couldn’t seem to understand how mad he‘s making her just by being honest.

”Well, tell _Davy_ , that I’ll do it. At least he believes in me,” she snaps again. She can’t help adding that last part, she’s angry.

”I’m sorry, but you don’t have much experience, ‘specially not with writin’ ‘bout these kinds of things,” Jack defends. And that just makes Katherine madder because she doesn’t need Jack Kelly reminding her of her standing as a reporter (little to none), especially not today.

”And how many strikes have you organized?” She shoots at him before hanging up. After that, there’s no question about it, she needs a descent cup of coffee if she has to deal with her ex (though his new boyfriends, Crutchie and David, make him slightly more tolerable. Only slightly though).

So she heads to her favourite coffee shop. Of course, she’s so intent on getting good coffee, she collided with another customer almost immediately.

”Crap, I’m sorry,” Katherine apologizes. “This has _not_ been my day, and it just keeps getting worse. And you probably don’t care. Sorry.”

”It’s alright,” the woman replies. She’s got long honey brown hair and warm eyes, and Katherine’s embarrassed she knocked into such a cute lady. “We all have bad days. You look like you’re having a terrible one. I’m Sarah. Why don’t I buy you something and you can vent, tell me all about it?”

Katherine stills at the offer. She’d love that, but she doesn’t think this stranger really wants to listen to all her problems. Her break’s not long enough, but it’s close enough to noon, she could just say she‘s on her lunch break. If this stranger really wants to, then Katherine’s on board.

”May I?” The girl - Sarah - asks, smiling sweetly with genuine eyes.

And Katherine thinks this day might just be better than she first thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!! Happy Pride Month!
> 
> -Poison Ivy


End file.
